Improvement in invalid-bedsteads



@uitrit tatre atmt ffice.

s. P. JOHNSON, OE PORTLAND, MAINE, AssIeNoE TO HIMSELE AND CHARLES E. WHITTEMOEE; OE SAME PLAGE.

Letters Patent No. 70,722, dated November 12, 1867. l

IMPROVEMENT IN INVALID-BBDSTEADS. s

ITO ALL WHOM -IT MAY '-CONOERN: v

Be it known that I, S. P. JOHNSON, of Portland, in thev county of Cumberland, and State of Maine, have' invented a new and useful improved Bedstead; and I hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, andl exact `description thereof, which will enable others to make and use my invention, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, forming partf this specification, .in which- Figure 1, plate 1, shows a detail of thevinside of the frame ofthe bedstead, to which is attached aratchet, nndindicates the method of operating the same. v

Figure 2, plate 1 is a side elevation of my inventiolnwith the legs Ors'upports dropped down.

Figure 3, plate 1, is a topl plan of my invention. i l

' Figure 1, plate 2, a side elevation of my invention, illustrating the method of its operation when used as a chair. Y

Figure 2, plate 2, a section of the frame, showing 4the position and form of the double lever.

Same letters show `like parts in all the plates and figures.

The object of my invention is to produce a bedframe and bedstead that can be used with any other bedstead, like the frames of ordinary Slat-beds by itself as a cot, or either in another bedstead or by itself, as a sick or easy-chair. v

a shows a. frame, upon which rests the jointed frame b b', by the centre part c, .whichis rigidly attached to it. In the sides of the frame are the joints or hinges d e d e. The whole frame, composed of the parts b b' c and a, rests upon legs 1, 2, 3, 4, Sie., which may be turned or folded up on the inner and outer sides of di'erent parts'of the frame, as indicated in iig. 1, plate 1, but when placed in position for use, are h eld by slotted braces .5 in the manner shown in tig. 2, plate 1, a small pin on the leg slipping, for this purpose, into ,the transverse slotf, after passing down the longitudinal slot.l When these legs are folded up on the inner or outer sides of vthe frame, then my invention can be placed in a. common bedstead, such as is used for-a slet-bed. The part b of the frame can be tipped up so as to form a chair-back or a rest of the back and headof a person, and the part b turned downward, so as to allow the feet to hang down as in a chair, These operations are illustrated in Iig. 1, plate 2. At or near the centre `of the frame, and on the under side thereof, is attached the double lever g, hung on a pivot, so as'toal-low it tO swing easily. By this lever, when` the foot b of the b ed is dropped, the head bis raised, and when the head bis dropped the foot b is raised so as to make the bed level again. When the frame is slatted, as 6, 7, 8, &c., then two pieces, u v, are placed on the under side of the slats for the endsof the lever to operate against. In iig'. 1, plate 1, nshows a ratchet hung on a pivot, z'. This ratchet is operated by the leverj,` which has connected with it the rod It, extending a little beyond the head of the bed4 frame. By drawing vthis rod outward from the bed-frame or bottom, the 'levcrj strikes the curved end of vthe ratchet, and raisesit from the piu m, over which the notches on Vthe ratchet are made to iit, as seen in` the drawi ing. This. ratchet n is used to hold the bedhead b, when raised to any desired inclination, in'such position, and

when lthe ratchet is raised from resting on the pin m, hy means of the rod 7c and lever j, then the head of the bed, b will fall to a level position,` raising at the 'same time the part b by means of the bent double leverg. The I teeth of the ratchet n are so made as to permitit to slide over the pin m quite easily as the head of the bed is raised, but so as to hold the head, when thus raised, at any desired point. lhe last of these recesses formed in the ratchet is of dierent sha-pe from the rest, being square or straight-sided. (Sec p, fig. 1, plate 1.) When thevpin m is in this recessp ofthe ratchet, then the head of the bed cannot be lifted either by pressing upward on the head or downward on thefoot-portion b', because the form of the recess p will not permit 'of the ratchet passing over the pin. The ratchet n must, when in this position, be iirst raised by the rod Il: and lever j, and the head b of the bed be then lifted till the recess p has passed over the pin m. The purpose of this is that when the whole frame Or bottom is placed level, as in iig. 2, plate 1, any weight resting on the foot-portion will not accidentally depress the same, and raise the head part bwhen such position is not desired, as the ratchet 'n and pin m then lock the hinge d. VAs before intimated, all the legs 1, 2, 3, lite., may be folded or turned up,

und then the-ibottom can be used in a bedstead, or the legs may be droppedas in iigs. 2, plate 1, and 1, plate" und the frame a used independently of any other bedstead, as a cot-bed or bedstead of itself. In either case =an be converted into' an easy-chair for invalids, and the parts held at any desired inclination in the manner lore described.`

I do not claim the folding france b c b', for folding beds have before been made by joints in the side pieces l med in thcwood thereof. Neither do I claim attaching the bottom'of a bed or part thereof toa series of ers pivoted to the side rails of a bedstead, so that they may, by naturally acting upon one another by power )lied at the end of the bed, convert the bed into a scat, as is seen in the patent of Jacob H. Gibson, March [866, No. 52,988. The folding of the frame in my invention is different, from its acting only by the hinges d e' and the double lever g. i l 'My invention may be used either with a mattress or a canvas cover attached to the bedframe, with springs, is common. l i t I do not claim broadly legs with slotted braces; neither do I claim cross-legs, one of which is slotted, and i other provided 4with a pin to t into said slot, for the purpose of making a folding chair. (Patent of Henry ,'Efratt, December 4, 1860, No. 30,858.) Inmy invention the braces have longitudinal and transverse slots, transverse slots operating as a. catch for the pin on the leg; uneither do I claim legs vand braces to the' same, exhibited in the patent of A. C, Crandal, February 9, 1864, No. 41,488. This combination of the braces, s, slots, and pins in my invention is for the purpose' of folding up the leg by the side of the frame of th'e l-bottom, when the bottom is notto be used as a chair, but is intended to be placed in a. bedstead as a bed- ',tom.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is 1. The double swinging lever g, as and for the purposes set forth. 2. The arrangement4 of the folding legs 1, 2, 3, Btc., having the pins on their inner sides, with thefolding loes having the longitudinal and transverse slots, as and for the purposes described. I

3. The arrangement and combination of the rod k, lever j, ratchet n, andl pin m, as and for the purposes forth.

S. P. JOHNSON.

Witnesses:

W. H..GLIFF0RD, HENRY C. HOUSTON. 

